It was a terrifying 45-minute ordeal for the victim in this case. He said he knew the man, a co-worker, and didn't think twice about giving him a ride home.

When 17-year-old Tyler finished his shift at the Subway on Taylorsville Road, he said a co-worker needed a ride, so he offered.

"He was a very friendly guy. I never imagined a guy with such a friendly face could be someone like that," Tyler said.

But Stephen Curtsinger, according to police, held Tyler at knifepoint.

A police incident report said, "The suspect began telling the victim a story about when he lived in Utah, that he and others broke into a home and beat and bound the people with duct tape and robbed them. He said he failed a drug test and is going back to jail until 2019 and needs the victim to drive him to Utah to see his family."

"We were driving for maybe 45 minutes and he was telling me to do whatever he said and I would be fine," said Tyler. "I was very afraid. A lot of things were going through my head. I was trying to think of the last things I said to my mother and brother, my father."

Meanwhile at home, Tyler's grandmother, Patricia, was beginning to wonder.

"He works very hard, comes home every night at 10," said Patricia.

It was well past 11:30 p.m. the night of his ordeal, when Tyler got his chance. Curtsinger made him stop at an apartment. He turned his back and Tyler ran to his car.

"He was very scared and he said he didn't ever think he would have to run for his life," said Patricia.

"I ran through red lights and stop signs. My adrenaline was pumping so hard," said Tyler.

He finally pulled over in a busy and well-lit Kroger parking lot to call police. His second phone call was to his grandmother.

Tyler met with a school counselor Friday and plans to go back to school Monday.

Curtsinger has been in trouble with the law before. He received a 12-year prison sentence for kidnapping in Utah, but was released on parole two years ago.